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       Women with power in movies often get a stigma and stereotypical reputation of being a bitch and a hardass in the work place. They come off shallow, cold, heartless, and emotionless. They give off the appearance that they only have one thing in mind: making money for themselves and their companies. Two prime examples of this stereotype in movies is Diana Christensen (played by Faye Dunaway) in the 1976 film Network, and Miranda Priestly (played by Meryl Streep) in the 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada.

In the movie Network, a news anchor named Howard Beale has a mental breakdown on live television. Executives and producers for the network of the show, UBS, decided to exploit Beale when they discover that ratings went up during his rant. Diana Christensen, the network’s programming producer, is used to picking up shows that are for entertainment value. She decides though to convince the network to transform Beale, who was once a respectable anchor who reported the news, into a spectacle and laughing stock of the news, all to boost network ratings and profits. Christensen, a young women who in the prime of her career, realizes the opportunity that is in front of her and doesn’t let anyone get in the way of her vision and ratings. Christensen becomes one of the top dogs in the network and the movie portrays her as a ruthless and cutthroat women who will do anything to make it to the top. She uses her sexuality to manipulate Max Schumacher, who also works for the network and is Beale’s best friend, gaining her the power to run the news show and transform Beale into the network’s puppet. Schumacher ends up leaving his wife for Christensen, falling head-over-heels for her. Christensen, although infatuated with Schumacher, never lets him truly see how much he means to her. At the end of the film, when the network’s audience starts to lose interest in the berating of Beale’s unstable mental health and ratings start to go down again, Christensen’s world around her begins to crumble and fall apart. Schumacher, who is living with Christensen towards the end of the film, comes to his senses and realizes that Christensen isn’t in love with him like he is with her; she is just in love with herself and the idea of being in love. He ends up leaving her, and while Christensen is upset and heartbroken, she still denies her feelings for Schumacher and lets him walk out of her life. Christensen never gets the opportunity to be herself and allow herself to love someone because she knows she has to keep up her image and not let anyone know that they got to her emotionally. Christensen sacrifices her personal life for the sake of her career and in the end, ends up losing it all.

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In the movie The Devil Wears Prada, a young and eager journalist named Andrea (played by Anne Hathaway) gets a job at Runway, the top fashion magazine around. Andrea is the new personal assistant to Miranda Priestly, who is the editor-in-chief of the magazine with a harsh reputation. Everyone working for her at the magazine is afraid of Miranda and her reputation lives well beyond just the office. The fashion industry, already brutal and cutthroat, is 10 times more vicious with Miranda in it. Throughout the movie, Andrea learns to adapt and adjust her work ethic to Miranda’s practically impossible and high standards. Miranda throws curve balls at Andrea whenever she can, constantly testing her loyalty and work ethic. When Andrea is finally trusted with the task of dropping off the “book”, the mock-up of the next issue, she sees Miranda in an intimate and private moment when she and her husband are fighting over Miranda’s lack of presence in the relationship. Her husband yells at Miranda, shoving it in her face that he is aware of her reputation and how she constantly lives up to her nickname “The Dragon Lady”. In the end of the film, after Andrea ends up losing most of the people and things in her life that mean something to her, for the sake of her career, Miranda sees the sacrifices she makes and offers Andrea the opportunity to join her in Paris for fashion week. Once there, Andrea again sees Miranda in an intimate moment where she reveals to Andrea that her husband has filed for divorce. Although upset, Miranda does not take a break from her work or fashion week. She portrays to Andrea that her marriage is nothing compared to her career, which is what she is truly committed too. Miranda ends up selling out one of her best employees, Nigel, who was going to transfer to a new job as a creative director for a high profiled fashion star. Instead of Nigel getting the job, Miranda convinces the executives at Runway to give the position to her rival, Jacqueline, because Miranda’s job was in jeopardy of being handed over to her. Miranda was willing to betray not only one of her best employees, but also her friend, all for the sake of her career. In the end of the film, Miranda tells Andrea that she sees a lot of herself in her, and this sets everything into perspective for Andrea. She knows she doesn’t want to end up like Miranda because she has seen how people perceive her and all of the personal sacrifices she has made. Andrea doesn’t think the job is worth it and ends up leaving Runway. Although she never lets on, Miranda is proud of Andrea leaving the position because she knows the damage she has caused and the heartache and comes along with the territory of being “the dragon lady”.

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Both films depict two women who hold powerful positions in the industries they work in. The films portray to their audience that in order for a women to climb the ladder in their careers, they need to be ruthless, heartless, and not let anyone stand in their way. The films show that in order for a women to be successful and advance herself in her career, she must sacrifice everything in her personal life and give up everything. They must not show any emotion because that is a sign of weakness (according to the films) and you need to treat people as allies and enemies, not friends. Christensen and Miranda both showed their audiences that their hard and tough exterior really caused them emotional damage to themselves and how society has set these boundaries in place for people, especially women, and how hard it is to be taken seriously in the work place.Women are far from this taboo idea of what the media depicts them as in movies. Women with power in their work place can hold a respectable title in their companies without having to sacrifice their lives for it or their reputation. 

What do all of these shows have a similar? Drama. Though they are not considered to be dramas, they have elements of drama throughout the first seasons. The definition of drama: In the context of television, drama has a purpose to create a dramatic tension through real life scenarios which an audience can connect and sympathize with or compare to a situation they or someone they know have been in. There are also situations that don't occur so much in real life, but creates a source of entertainment for the audience, which they may find funny or interesting. In all three shows, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Jessica Jones, and Young and Hungry, they exhibit elements of drama despite their differences in genre.

The drama elements in Kimmy Schmit that are filled in season one are:

·      Differences with her best friend from the bunker Cyndee; happy being a victim

After Kimmy realizes how many free things Cyndee has been getting due to the sympathy of others, she tricks Brandon into revealing that he is gay, but he says that he's only with Cyndee because he, too, feels sorry for her. Shortly after, Brandon proposes to Cyndee, prompting Kimmy to tell Cyndee the truth, though Cyndee says she already knows and does not care.

This is an example of realistic characters whom must deal with realistic emotional struggles: wanting to tell your best friend the truth, wanting him or her only the best, and not agreeing on a topic which leads into an argument. The reason Kimmy stayed in New York City was to get away from feeling like a victim by moving to a new place where people did not just see her as “The Mole Woman”.

·      Internal conflict about testifying

Kimmy returns to Indiana to testify against Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne. The Mole Women return to the shelter to look for evidence against Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne when the prosecutors begin to lose the case.

Again, this is an example of realistic characters that must deal with realistic emotional struggles: coming to terms with whether or not she wants justice or to move on with her life and just forget her past. The whole season up to this point, Kimmy was trying to move on with her life and forget the past while being positive about the future.

·      The battle in court

The Mole Women become trapped in the bunker when Kimmy's stepdad fails to properly guard the hatch door and begin to argue. Meanwhile, the Mole Women make up and work together to escape the bunker. The Mole Women head back to the trial and use a tape of Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne found in his bunker to win the case.

Realistic characters that must deal with realistic emotional struggles: the Reverend still uses his wit and charm despite the evidence proving he took advantage of these women and kept them captive. It is basically up to Kimmy, to testify against the Reverend and put him behind bars. Similar to people testifying in court with a similar situation, facing the perpetrator is a conflict that Kimmy must address.

The drama elements in Jessica Jones that are filled in season one are:

·      Luke slept with a married woman

Jessica goes to Luke’s bar and finds him being questioned. Jessica tries to apologize, but he’s (obviously) mad that she’s been spying on him. And why has she been spying? Well, that woman he was hooking up with? Yeah, she has a husband.

Realistic characters that deal with realistic emotional struggles are getting involved with a married man or woman.  

·      Kilgrave obsessed with Jessica

He loves her and he loves that she has defied him. When she left him for dead, she became the first person that he couldn’t control. He wants her to decide to come with him. He tells her, “we’re inevitable.” “When you are ready I will see you at home,” he says. So he’s not out for revenge. He's all about romantic obsession.

Realistic characters that must deal with realistic emotional struggles, such as having strong feelings for someone that does not feel the same way back.

·      Kilgrave used Jessica’s sister Trish to get back at Jessica Kilgrave craved her love, but she only loves one person: Trish. So he calls Trish over and starts dangling her in front of Jessica. He caresses Trish, talks about how she’ll become his “slave,” and starts to walk away with her. He tells Jessica that if she ever contacts them or they even see her, Trish will slit her own throat. He makes Trish kiss him, passionately. When Jessica still doesn’t move, Kilgrave thinks he’s got her. He approaches her, convinced that one day, she'll love him. He tells her to smile. She does, broadly. He instructs her to say she loves him. She utters the words, “I love you,” but looks straight at Trish. She then grabs his face with one hand. “Smile,” she says, and breaks his neck.

Realistic characters that deal with realistic emotional struggles are using someone to get back at someone else, manipulating a person into getting what you ultimately desire.

The drama elements in Young and Hungry that are filled in season one are:

·      Sleeping with her new boss Josh

Gabi Diamond, a young food blogger, applies for a job as a personal chef for Josh Kaminski, a successful tech entrepreneur. Josh plans on proposing to his girlfriend, Caroline, until she breaks things off before his proposal is due. Gabi comforts her boss only to end up in bed with him, ruining her chances of being secured the job. Yolanda and Elliot confront her the next morning, and she is hired for the position.

Realistic characters that must deal with realistic emotional struggles, such as making a mistake and regretting something you did such as getting involved with your boss.  

·      Gabi getting into a relationship with another employee

Josh hires Cooper, a computer hacker, to work for him. But when Cooper puts his romantic moves on Gabi, Josh's jealous feelings start to show and he tells Gabi that she can't date Cooper, claiming that he does not “condone” workplace relationship; however, they decide to date in secret anyway.

Realistic characters that must deal with realistic emotional struggles, such as an unethical work relationship knowing that is it not the right thing to do even if it feels right.

·      Internal Conflict with telling Josh the truth

Josh and Caroline's wedding is pushed further ahead than planned. Despite this, Gabi is excited to present him with his birthday gift. Caroline clearly forgets about her fiancé's birthday, and Gabi sacrifices her gift for Caroline. When Josh reacts tremendously gracious about the gift, Gabi contemplates whether she should tell Josh the truth or not.

Realistic characters that must deal with realistic emotional struggles, such as telling the truth to someone you care about even though you know the truth can hurt too.

What makes a television drama appealing and almost addictive to an audience is that they don’t let too much go at once. Typically the dramas will start with an intense beginning to grip their audience, and keep letting little bits going to keep the viewers engaged in the episode or season. An audience’s expectations of a television drama are to be entertained! We love television dramas because they play on our demons. We can all relate with having had moments of feeling vulnerable, confused and being caught in the wrong situation. Or we wonder, “Could that really happen?” Television dramas channel our emotions; we live for the roller coaster of events that make every episode exciting. “There's a need to explore the dark side of our nature, to figure out what could make us so angry that we'd break from the restraints of civilized society." Television dramas express love, and several drama television shows have an intersection of a love interest. Drama is most often about intense emotions and nothing makes emotions more intense than passion. Television dramas are an escape from reality; by simply tuning in and sinking into the couch, dramas will continue to be the audiences’ favorite because of the emotions it brings out: happy, sad, angry, passion, and jealously, while still being able to relate back to the viewer. Television drama is the new literature.

Work Cited:

Fielding, S. (2014). New Labour, 'Sleaze' and Television Drama. British Journal Of Politics & International Relations, 16(2), 326-348.

Shim, J. W., & Paul, B. (2007). Effects of Personality Types on the Use of Television Genre. Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 51(2), 287-304.

Bailey, S. (2001). 'Professional Television': Three (Super) Texts and a (Super) Genre. Velvet Light Trap: A Critical Journal Of Film & Television, (47), 45.

Zuckerman, E. (2015).  R29 Binge Club: Jessica Jones Season 1 Recaps. Retrieved May 15, 2016, from http://www.refinery29.com/2015/11/97963/jessica-jones-season-1-binge-watching-guide

Scarborough. (2013) Comedy is a Favorite of the Top TV Genres. Retrieved May 16, 2016, from http://dialog.scarborough.com/index.php/comedy-is-a-favorite-of-the-top-tv-genres/

Leotta, A. (2012) Why We Love TV Crime Dramas- And Hate Them. Retrieved May 17, 2016, from http://allisonleotta.com/2012/06/love-tv-crime-dramas-hate/

Bingham, J. (2011) TV drama is the new literature, says Salman Rushdie. Retrieved May 17, 2016, from  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/8571010/TV-drama-is-the-new-literature-says-Salman-Rushdie.html

Television has consistently changed throughout the years and on the daily basis, especially today in 2016. This trimester in my Television Studies course, we discussed and explored in how television changed throughout the years has progressed. For homework, were assigned to watch a few modern television series that were only available on Netflix. Those shows were The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Jessica Jones. Both shows demonstrated different forms of trauma in two women’s lives who’s lifestyles were totally opposite. 

I’m not going to lie, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was such a hard show for me to actually get into. At first I thought, “What the hell is my professor making me watch?”. After getting through a few episodes I started to get really interested and I was stuck on this show. It may seem really stupid at first but it is worth the watch. Throughout the first few episodes, it is obvious that Kimmy is having a hard time trying to fit in and get the grasp of living and acting like an adult in New York City. “For such a deliberately cartoonish show, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has a remarkable grasp on its central character’s buried traumas and the ever-widening gulf between New York City’s moneyed class and the victims of their wave of gentrification.” (Sims, 2016). Though Kimmy has been through a lot because of her past of being trapped in the bunker, she is a very independent woman and is determined to get back the life she lost and to continue to grow as a woman. “The show doesn’t address sexual violence head on; it’s possible to watch without dwelling on the details. But Kimmy’s ugly history comes through, in inference and in sly, unsettling jokes about trauma, jagged bits that puncture what is a colorful fish-out-of-water comedy.” (Nussbaum 2015) Again, Kimmy has been through a lot and some of the things that she goes through on her own in New York City remind her of what her life was like before she was rescued from the bunker. Some of the things that she goes through make her remember what it was like being in the bunker and it scares her. Many of those moments that make her remember, you can say they are her PTSD moments. 

Jessica Jones, another great show that is on Netflix and one of the shows I had to watch for my Television Studies class. When I first saw this show, I saw that is was made by Marvel, so I immediately thought about superheroes. Superheroes with capes and tights. But with this show, that is not the case, it is the complete opposite. To me, Jessica Jones is a very dark show that is not afraid to actually show what happened. It was hard for me to continue watching this whole series, I even had nightmares because the show is so dark. But don’t get me wrong, Jessica Jones is a really great show and it shows another way in how women can be independent and that they do not need a man to take care of them or do anything else for them. One of the things that I noticed about this show and that somewhat bothered me and I guess my classmates too was that Jessica Jones always wore the same damn outfit in every single episode. Even though she wore the same thing, she sure did kick some ass and showed that women are also strong as men. Just by watching the credits of the show for the intro, you can automatically notice that this show also shows some sort of trauma that Jessica went through before she got to where she is today. 

Just like Kimmy, Jessica also seems to suffer from several PTSD moments while she’s going on with her day. After being captive by Killgrave and being able to escape, she tends to hear his voice in her head as she is either walking through New York City or helping on one of her cases. “something a little bit different, something more edgy and not just a rehash of the gritty opener, and Jessica Jones fit the bill in the way perhaps no other comic book hero could.” (Goss, 2015). Jessica Jones is such a unique hero. But just like all the others, she also has a life to live and a job that helps pay for the bills. Even though Jessica Jones has been through a lot, it does not stop her from wanting to help others and but the bad people where they belong. This show shows another way in how women can be strong and independent on their own. 

                                                    !Spoilers!

For the longest time, television shows have forgotten about the female gender.  Not entirely, but they have definitely played a significantly smaller role than men have (Kennard, et. al, 2016).  Today, women play a much more prominent role in television.  The typical female of TV is just that, what many perceive as the typical female. Domesticated, blonde, small frame, and even meek sometimes.  Streaming services like Netflix have begun to buck that trend, however.  The shows Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Jessica Jones portray women in a very positive manner that I would say breaks the norm.  Kimmy, a former hostage of the Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne, is discovered underground after fifteen years.  Throughout the first season, she is thrust into the real world of New York.  Forced to find a house and a job in the Big Apple, of course things get a little wonky, but even though it is a comedy show, Kimmy Schmidt, covers some heavy material (more on that later).  Jessica Jones follows in a similar vein as Kimmy, but in a different light.  Also set in New York, Jessica is a super human who runs her own private-eye agency.  I wouldn’t call her a super hero out right; she is more of an anti-hero.  Brainwashed by the dastardly Kilgrave, she is forced into a relationship by this mad man (again, more on this later).  Netflix isn’t the only the one to create important female roles, though.  NBC has a good track record of shows with female leads (or at least co-leads).  30 Rock and Parks and Rec are two that always come to mind.  The one that is most similar to Jones and Schmidt though is The Blacklist.  The female lead, Elizabeth Keen, is a rookie FBI agent fresh out of Quantico.  Seemingly happily married to the man of her dreams, Tom, her entire world is flipped upside down when she learns that Tom is actually an agent of a shady para-military group sent to keep tabs on her.  Of course, she is left traumatized by the revelation that the man she loves is not who he says he is.  These three stories of brave women trying to find the truth, and themselves, are all great examples of what television can do for women.  Across platforms, in different genres, and even ages.  

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt seems like a straight up comedy at a glance, and while that is true for the most part, I was not prepared for some of the deep seeded, serious issues it ends up covering.  For Kimmy, it’s trying to adjust to a new world and find out the truth about the Reverend.  That’s an obvious one.  Buried under all of Kimmy’s issues however, lies the issues of Jacqueline; who left her Native American home at a young age to move to the big city.  Much like Kimmy, she too is going through a learning process about how to be independent.  Her husband was essentially keep her hostage, just not in the same way the Reverend was keeping Kimmy hostage.  He would keep her on the line with money, nice things, and promises of being home in the next week or so.  Of course he never came home and it turns out he was cheating on Jacqueline the whole time. After she breaks up with her husband, her Kimmy begin taking very similar paths on the road to adulthood. Kimmy’s story is the one we are interested in though.  Fifteen years she spent in that bunker.  Being fed lies about the apocalypse.  Being demonized by Gretchen, one of the other women with her, for being a non-believer of the Reverend.  When she comes out of that hole you can feel the excitement, its palpable.  One of the first things she does when she goes to New York is go to the candy store, and can’t shake the feeling that is a metaphor for the entire season.  She is like a kid in a candy store with all of the new things she is learning.  Of course she isn’t happy all of time, but who is? The validation of the Reverend being sentenced at the end of the season seems to be a step in the right direction for her growth as a person, and hopefully season two will expand on some of the lingering issues she has.  

Lingering issues is the perfect way to describe how Jessica Jones is doing in life. After Kilgrave brainwashed her, she has never been the same.  No matter how much she tries to heal her own pain by helping others, you can tell that she still doesn’t feel safe.  Constantly looking over shoulder, weary of her neighbors, afraid. Jessica’s growth hinges on the assumption that she can catch Kilgrave and make him pay for what he has done. At first, when she tries to lure him into a prison, she fails.  But in the end, she gets her man.  Jessica Jones paints a much more realistic portrait of PTSD than Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt in my opinion.  I think that has to do with the type of show that it is; a gritty, dark, anti-hero drama not originally produced for a major network. There is something to be said about the freedom that Netflix has from the FCC (The Street, 2016).  Being able to produce shows with more of an edge than the ones being broadcast on network television has certainly set them up better for the future.  It definitely shows in Jessica Jones.  One thing that seems to help both Kimmy and Jessica in their search for truth is the emergence of Dong and Luke.  Kimmy meets Dong in a high school equivalency class, and even though the language barrier is tough to deal with at first, they really help each other out a lot.  Luke (another anti-hero in the Marvel Universe), seems like a shoulder to cry on at first, but the relationship buds into something more.  If the show follows the comics at all, eventually we will see them have a child and get married.  While these male relationships may seem odd given the characters past transgressions with men, I think they really help the females of these shows begin to trust again.

Finally, we have Blacklist.  Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was originally written for NBC but aired on Netflix, Jessica Jones has always been for Netflix, but Blacklist started and continues on NBC.  While it may not have the flexibility, in terms of the FCC, as the other two shows do, Blacklist does a hell of a job maintaining its edge.  Raymond Reddington is a former Naval officer turned domestic terrorist. One day, seemingly out of the blue, he turns himself in to the FBI.  Offering information on criminals so big they aren’t even on the United States’ radar, he thinks that his cooperation can be mutually beneficial for all parties involved. He has one caveat however, he will only work with Elizabeth Keen.  Throughout the show it is implied that Reddington is Keen’s real father.  This, compounded with the fact that her husband, Tom, isn’t who he says he is, drives her up the wall.  Unlike the previous two shows mentioned, Liz has two men toying with her.  The strain these relationships put on Keen is easily seen throughout the first season as she comes close to breakdown several times.  Reddington offers to help her find out who Tom really is but of course he will get something out of it in the end as well.  It’s a never ending cycle of use.  Elizabeth seemingly can’t escape it.  With end of the third season, there is speculation that she actually dies in an attempt to figure this whole thing out (cliffhangers, ugh).

The portrayal of women in television suck sometimes.  With Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Jessica Jones, and Blacklist, Netflix and NBC have done a good job showing how strong women can be.  They may start off at the mercy of a man, but they fight back.  They search for the truth.  They find themselves.  Because females are strong as hell.  

 Kennard, A., Knobloch-Westerwick, S., Robinson, M., Willis, L. (2016).  The Allure of Aphrodite: How Gender-Congruent Media Portrayals Impact Adult Women's Possible Future Selves.  Human Communication Research, 42, 221-245.  Retrieved from http://0-web.a.ebscohost.com.helin.uri.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=5&sid=2f850e12-abd1-49e4-90e9-81f5f3bdf088%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=113882974&db=bth

When audiences see female characters on television, they often see a mixed message of what mainstream media has dictated for what a women should look and act like. They see them portrayed as helpless and defenseless creatures, often pining after male characters and not really being able to focus on much else. According to Matthew Henry, author of the article ‘‘Don’t Ask me, I’m Just a Girl’’: Feminism, Female Identity, and The Simpsons, he states that, “Much of this confusion about women’s ‘‘proper place’’ and roles in the culture derives from the mixed messages to be found in mainstream mass media. As a result, many women today seem to be in a conflicted state, torn between very traditional and stereotypical ideas about who and what they ought to be and rather progressive and liberating concepts of who and what they can be” (Henry, 2007, pg. 274). Once in a while though, producers and directors create television shows that break the mold and show female characters in a whole new light. One of the more inspiring aspect that viewers can see a female character take on is when they are victims of something, whether it’s a sexual assault, kidnapping, brainwashing, or even just a victim of destiny, and use these unfortunate events as a fuel to fire them up and take charge. Television audiences have been seeing female characters, both antagonists and protagonists, stand up for themselves and not let their past dictate how they should live their lives. Three shows that break this mold and have a strong main feminist character in their story line are The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015), Jessica Jones (2015), and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997).

The mother of these three shows is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In 1997, Joss Whedon created a show that set the bar for badass female characters on television. The show is about Buffy Summers, a young girl in high school who is chosen (by destiny) to be the next vampire slayer. Buffy also just happens to live in Sunnydale, California, the portal and hell mouth for all things evil, unhuman, and dead. Buffy (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) struggles with balancing her new adult life of slaying, ass kicking, and vampire killing all while trying to remain and uphold a normal life. Buffy goes through it all; she dies several times throughout the series while saving the world and she experiences loss herself including her mother’s death. She has friends turn against her when she needs them most and she has several romantic relationships crumble apart, all because she knows what her priority in life is and the responsibilities that fall upon her. Just like any victim, Buffy did not ask to become the vampire slayer but she took her role in destiny and became an idol for girls everywhere. The audience got to watch throughout the years as Buffy grew up from a fumbling and awkward teenager to a mature women and leader. Buffy was able to show her viewers that even though she didn’t have a choice in her fate, she didn’t allow it to bring her down and defeat her. She took on her role with pride and fought harder than anyone in the show ever asked her to. She sacrificed herself and her life for the sake of saving the world time after time, never asking for much in return. Although she wore a hard exterior and had problem communicating her emotions and feelings, Buffy was still easily relatable to. One thing Buffy always showed her audience was that is was okay to cry. Even in the toughest moments of life, she showed that crying doesn’t make you weak or show signs that you can’t handle a situation. She taught the viewers that crying did not make you any less of a women.  Buffy also came at a time where America was in their third wave of feminism. She showed America what it truly means to be a feminist and wasn’t always counting on a male character to save her. Buffy was the female hero that television needed and she really kicked off the start of what television viewers would continue to see true feminists as.

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Jessica Jones started in 2015 and even though is only currently one season of the Marvel based show, it has already broken so much ground for feminist characters on television. The show is about Jessica Jones (played by Krysten Ritter), a women with super strength and flight-like abilities who is trying to piece back together her life after being brainwashed and under the control of a man named Killgrave. Jessica, who is now a private investigator, learns that the man who had her under his control for years, was not dead like she thought. Jessica spends the first season of the show coming to terms with what happened to her while under Killgrave’s control and eventually coming face to face with him and fighting him to the death. The series is based off of the Marvel character Jessica Jones, and ties in several other Marvel characters. Jessica is a prime example of someone who was a victim of sexual abuse and is working on overcoming what happened to her and using her situation to better herself and others. Jessica Jones was able to portray the aftermath and effects of rape and the damage it causes to the victim. The conversation of rape, especially rare and almost taboo on television, and often get misrepresented. Lisa Cuklanz and Sujata Moorti, authors of the journal article Television’s ‘‘New’’ Feminism: Prime-Time Representations of Women and Victimization made a point by stating that “Scholars have found that victim voices and perspectives are rare, that feminist ideology concerning rape is even more rare across several decades of programming, that rape narratives in detective genres have focused primarily on men and masculinity, and that the central and often sole cause of rape is a character defect of the individual perpetrator” (Cuklanz/Sujata, 2006, pg 307).   This show is raw and real on so many levels. It not only shows the viewers a female lead with a strong feminist presence, but it also shows the audience just how hard it really is to overcome these though situations in life. Jessica isn’t some helpless victim who can’t fight her own battles, but she also doesn’t show herself as someone who has their life together. The character struggles with alcoholism, depression, and PTSD throughout the first season. She makes mistakes, curses, and does not look like the stereotypical female super hero that people are used to seeing. She is relatable to females because she isn’t perfect and that’s why her audience loves her. Jessica is able to focus on rebuilding her life and relationships with those who are in it. Jessica Jones is the modern day feminist that television needed, digging in to hard topics and showing them for what they really are. Life isn’t all sparkles and rainbows and Jessica Jones really grounds people and shows them the aftermath of a traumatic event and how people overcome them.  

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The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is Tina Fey’s latest project on television and it is fantastic. The show is about Kimmy Schmidt (played by Ellie Kemper), a young women who is rescued from an underground bunker that she has been a prisoner in for 15 years. The bunker, which held Kimmy and three other women, was part of a cult from a brainwashing reverend who kidnapped all the women and held them capture underground. Now free from the bunker, Kimmy starts her new life in New York City and discovers the world once again and everything she has missed out on in the past 15 years. This show shows victim-turned-feminist in a whole new light. Different from Buffy and Jessica Jones, Kimmy Schmidt is a comedy and is able to shed laughter and light on vulnerable situations and after they happen. The show briefly discusses how the reverend forced himself upon Kimmy and the other women in the bunker, but Kimmy is able to still move past what happened. She carries herself in a manner that is inspiring and hopeful. The audience is able to tell that she obviously went through a lot while being held hostage for 15 years, but Kimmy refuses to let anything and anyone stand in her way of rebuilding her life and trying to find happiness again. Kimmy is the type of person who always has a smile on her face and tries to find the best in every situation; something that is rare, especially for those who have been through something significantly traumatic in their life. Kimmy’s outlook on life is what turns her in to a strong feministic person. When someone in the show tells her that she can’t do something or that something won’t turn out the way she wants it to, she doesn’t allow the negativity to stop her. She knows what she wants and expects to see in life and strives to achieve all of her goals. When something doesn’t work out, she just picks herself up, dusts herself off, and goes back out into the world, sparkly shoes and all.

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Putting these three shows side-by-side, the audience can see a theme among the three lead female characters in each other. Each women has been through something very traumatic and life changing. Each women is a victim of something. They all have decided to not let those events run their lives though. All three characters are fighters. They are feminists in the sense that they don’t require a man to run their lives and dictate what they should do and say. While they all have their love interests in their shows, each female chooses to look past those relationships and fight for something bigger. They are role models to young girls everywhere by showing them that being a survivor and a leader does not mean you have to be or look perfect. Each female character has her flaws and the televisions shows do a good job of showing the viewers what they are and how the women are not going to let flaws stand in their way. Each character is on a mission to better their lives. These characters give other victims hope and help them restore dreams into their lives. They inspire women all over and allow them to see what women really do look like in reality. Whether you choose to kick some vampire ass, become a private-eye with superpowers, or just explore New York City with your roommate and eccentric landlord, these television shows shed new light on what a modern day feminist looks like.

Work Cited

Cuklanz, L. M., & Moorti, S. (2006). Critical Studies in Media Communication.        In Critical studies in media communication (Vol. 23, pp. 302-321). Virginia:        National Communication Association.

As discussed throughout this Television Studies course, television consistently changes on a daily basis, especially in the modern world. This past term, we watched a couple modern series, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Jessica Jones, on Netflix that give us an idea of what modern television is doing and how these two shows operate. After watching season 1 of both series, we discussed in class the similarities between them. At first, I had difficulty understanding what similarities they had in common. It turned out both the series have the exact same storyline while sharing similar characters that ideally match up with the opposing show. For some reason, this fact astounded me and has had me viewing television in whole new way. Throughout this post, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Jessica Jones will be compared to a third scripted comedy known as Girl Meets World which is seen as a modern spin-off of the 90s Boy Meets World. The comparisons and contrasts will be analyzed in the framework of the three various contexts each series portrays. The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is “a feel-good, lady-centric comedy, complete with some of the unabashed topicality of [Tina Fey’s] unabashed topicality of her defining show, 30 Rock” (Cruz, 2015). This series shares the same storyline as Jessica Jones where the woman is choosing to start a new life in an unfamiliar city while leaving their tragic past events behind them. However, with Tina Fey as the creator, it’s obvious the context for this series takes on a comedic form of displaying particular scenarios. Such as Kimmy’s, “memories are the PTSD-inducing kind that fuel flashbacks, nightmares, random fits of anger, and distrust” (Cruz, 2015). Just like Jessica Jones and Girl Meets World, Kimmy Schmidt has that companion that she openly shares her personal life experiences with and that is her flamboyant roommate named Tituss Burgess. Just like Jessica and Riley, Kimmy is seen as independent and confident, yet they all need a trusting friend who understands them more than they comprehend themselves. Spending numerous years underground, Kimmy has yet to experience big moments in her life, such as love. Kimmy ends up realizing that her former classmate, Dong, has strong feelings towards her. Dong serves as this male counterpart that plays a significant role by satisfying the female desire to feel wanted. Dong is also starting new as he is an immigrant from Vietnam that has recently moved to the United States to achieve the societal American Dream.   When it comes to Jessica Jones, comedy is definitely not the term that comes to mind. Jessica is a super powered hero who is, “trying to move forward after an intense experience of trauma: before the events of the show Kilgrave, another ‘gifted’ individual with mind control abilities, became obsessed with Jessica, forcing her to stay with him and do whatever he told her” (Truitt, 2016). Instead of focusing on the positive assets, if any, in this series, Jessica Jones makes, “the survivors the central characters, and making their trauma and recovery the meat of the show” (Truitt, 2016). Similar to Kimmy, Jessica also suffers from PTSD and it is shown from the very beginning of the series in the first episode. Jessica is seen wandering, “drunk, through her own life, always on edge, feeling disconnected and alone, memories flooding her consciousness at the worst times, pulling her into the past” (Truitt, 2016). Jessica, just like Kimmy and Riley, shares an interest in Luke Cage, who is also a super powered human who occasionally has a fling with her. Sharing a mutual understanding with Jessica’s super human struggles, Luke is able to comprehend what she deals with on a daily basis. 

Riley in Girl Meets World has her rebellious best friend, Maya who leads her to take the more courageous decision that Riley would originally hesitate to make. Just as Tituss and Patsy serve as the necessary confident for these young women, so does Maya for Riley. However, the atmosphere in comparison to Jessica Jones and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is completely different in this series as well as the medium it presents itself. Although, Girl Meets World seasons are available on Netflix, its primary airtime is on the world renowned Disney channel. Already, the context is expected to vary in comparison to the realistic Jessica Jones and Kimmy Schmidt. Riley is a tween girl who is encouraged to take on the discouraging world of reality on her own, yet she’s not alone at all. Unlike the independent and single ladies that are Kimmy and Jessica, Riley has her family and close friends that are continuously her back bone and support system when she is, at times, unaware or naïve. Along with Kimmy and Jessica, Riley is an intelligent young lady who is looking to find her place in the world. Although she holds no traumatic past that has her suffering from an illness such as PTSD, she still has her own struggle; also known as middle school. Yes, middle school is nothing in comparison to the mental abuse that Kimmy and Jessica have experienced. Yet, the life scuffles of transitioning from a tween to a teenager are portrayed to be a huge time to make the right decisions. Though Riley is in the seventh grade, she too has a “crush” named Lucas but for the sake of Disney, it’s not considered a relationship. Just like Dong and Luke, Lucas is also in a new environment as he is a transfer student from Texas to the big city. 

Television is not what is used to be by any means. In fact, it seems that television is constantly evolving at an increasing rate. With the surge in platforms, genres, amount of shows, etc., it’s simply hard to keep up with all of the shows and mini-series that are now available to us with, quite literally, the click of a button.  In fact, there has been a 270% increase since 2010 in the amount of people who own the technology trio of a tablet, smartphone, and laptop. So with the media world continuing to change and evolve, what exactly does this mean for the television shows themselves?

To better compare the differences as well as the shocking similarities between different television shows in today’s media, I am going to compare three shows; Jessica Jones, Kimmie Schmidt, and Girls. With these three shows I will discuss and compare genres, content, characterization, distribution, and audience.

The first television show that I had watched and analyzed was Unbreakable Kimmie Schmidt. This television show, which was created by Tina Fey, was released strictly as a streaming series on Netflix in 2015. Though this television show is produced as a comedy, it really has a rather dark and underlying story line. In this show, female writer and producer, Tina Fey, creates a sly and comical series which has the components of a character who has dealt with a series of extremely traumatic experiences.

Main character, Kimmie, was held hostage in a bunker and forced to take part in a religious cult for the majority of her life. The show takes place after Kimmie escapes from the captivity of the bunker, and is thrown into the “real world” in the only place suitable, New York City. When readjusting to her new “free” life, in which she hasn’t been a part of for a huge portion of her life, her terrifying, and quite frankly glossed over, past directly influences the way she reacts with the people around her. Her memories are the PTSD-inducing kind that fuel flashbacks, nightmares, random fits of anger, and distrust. 

In the midst of adjusting to “normal life” Kimmie and her new roommate Titus, a gay Broadway enthusiast, face New York City as a massive entity filled with obstacles that are triumphed with non-other than wit, laughter, and enthusiasm. Ultimately, Kimmie uses humor to cope with her dark past.

The show takes potentially offending risks and has always played around the edge of political correctness, just like Fey's previous sitcom(30 Rock), subverting and supporting it simultaneously. Tina Fey makes light of portrayed sterotypes in our culture by providing the comedic relief of flamboyantly stereotyping black men, gay men, Native Americans, and wealthy white men. Because of it’s platform(streaming), and blatant risky stereotypes, this show appeases to the younger millennial generation much more than it does to generation X.  

The second television show that I had watched and analyzed was Jessica Jones. This television show was also released via Netflix streaming in 2015, and was apart of the very well-known "Marvel" productions. 

In this series, Jessica, the main character lives in New York City, which is portrayed as so massive and dark, that it acts as the perfect catalyst for the overwhelming chaos that takes place throughout the show.

 Jessica, was previously held hostage by Kilgrave, a destructive, violent man who had the ability of mind control. She too, has powers of her own that involve super-human strength. Jessica had used these abilities of hers to escape Kilgrave, but he is now back in New York City, using people as pawns in order to manipulate her into falling back under his control. Season one of this series shows just how determined Jessica is to stop Kilgrave, regardless of who she hurts along the way. Her one downfall, is a hungry alcohol addiction. 

Throughout the show, Jessica is a character in search of control, using alcohol to quiet her feelings and isolation to limit her exposure — except for one thing. The one thing Jessica can't control, despite all her best efforts, is her desire to help others.

The show directly discuss issues involving rape, consent, and PTSD. It also does a great job of involving people of all kinds; men, women, gay, straight, drug addicts, public figures. This shows that no one in the world is protected from the dangers of those specific issues, or any traumatic experience in general. 

Girls is the television show of choice that I also had watched during the semester. Girls was released in 2012 via HBO. The writer and producer, Lena Dunham, also has a lead role of “Hannah” in the show. The series, now in its 5th season, is a comedy/drama about four girls (women) in their early 20s, living in New York City.

As you get to know all of the girls, the content is nothing less than raw and honest. The show covers topics of sex, love, jobs, family issues, drugs, addiction, and overall struggling to find your place in the world. The show is meant to portray real life millennia's as they encounter the struggles of everyday life, and it definitely does not leave out any of the dirty details.

From my personal analyzes, I would think that Girls had an audience of females in their twenties, mainly because that is exactly what the show is built around. But despite my assumption, 22% of viewers are in fact male, and over 50% of viewers of the TV show are ironically white males over 50.

All of the characters wear their quirks and flaws on their sleeve, and they deal with issues that the vast majority of us would like to believe we don't deal with ourselves. The "realness" of the show is what makes it so appealing.

When comparing these three television shows, there are a plethora of similarities as well as differences that are intertwined throughout all of them. The main difference between the three shows are the platforms in which viewers subscribe to and watch the series'. While Jessica Jones and Unbreakable Kimmie Schmidt are streamed via Netflix, Girls is obtained and viewed through HBO.

Since there are so many media outlets, media platforms have begun to "feud" on the basis of how to gain viewers over the other platforms. Despite efforts, Netflix currently has more revenue than HBO. In fact, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos told GQ that, "The goal is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us (Learmonth, 2015)." I believe that if Girls became available on Netflix, the amount of viewers would skyrocket.

Regarding similarities of these three TV shows, there are more than a couple common factors throughout all of the series. All three shows take place in New  York City. Ironically, the city has a very different purpose in each show. In Unbreakable Kimmie Schmidt, the city was used as a place where people of all different nationalities and backgrounds came to find their footing. In Jessica Jones, the city was used as a huge catalyst to enable violence to occur while remaining unnoticed. In Girls, the city was used as a place where young women and men come after college in efforts to pursue their passions and make their dreams come true. Because of the different perceptions of New York City in each show, this factor is used equally as a difference and a similarity.

All three shows are also produced by women, and have women leads. This fact alone is rare considering, "women and older writers face discrimination in television and feature film (Phalen, 2016)." Because of the female influence throughout each of the show, it is no surprise that they all contain female lead characters.

In conclusion, the analyses of these three shows perfectly demonstrates a couple points. First, how the same city can be used and angled to carry out three completely different purposes. Secondly, that the platform in which shows are released directly increase/decrease not only the amount of viewers, but the demographic of viewers. And thirdly, which should go without saying, that women producers/writers and shows with female leads can be just as successful as those with men producers or male leads.

Since the shows are on different platforms, they are going to be accessible to a different audience, and carry-out different viewing experiences. That being said, it is clear from this analysis, in a world of many different media platforms, and many different television shows, that viewers do not have to watch the same television show in order to learn the same lessons, issues, and life encounters. In fact, the same issues or situations can be taught in many different ways, through very different mediums, and they will still have a huge positive impact on viewers.

   References:

Learmonth, M. (2015). Can HBO Win the War Against Netflix? HBO is offering a new, non-cable service in hopes of decapitating the competition. Newsweek, (11).

     Since the birth of television, woman in the industry have pioneered the way for others and create iconic characters that we continue to idolize. Women like Lucille Ball, Carol Brunette, Nichelle Nichols, Rosanne Barr, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mariska Hargitay,and Tina Fey are just a few that paved the way for what it means to be a woman both on television and in the world. In the book Women Watching Television: Gender, Class, and Generation in the American Television Experience, author Andrea L. Press says that “Our culture’s representations of the female gender have changed along with our consensual ideas, in a complicated relationship of response to, and influence upon, our changing culture notions about female roles and identity” (Press, 1991). With the change of culture and society always rapid, society has watched together as the progression of the female character on television has progressed and morphed into what women really look and act like in real life.

Lucille Ball was the original pioneer when it comes to women being on television. She brought comedy, realness, and true talent to her work. She had a vision of what she wanted her show to look like and she never let anyone deter her from it. In 1950, the network CBS pitched to Lucille about taking her already popular radio show, My Favorite Husband, and move it over to television. In an effort to try and save her failing marriage, Lucille insisted that her husband, Dezi Arnaz, play her TV husband on the show. She believed that if the two of them worked closer together, it would help save their marriage. The network had their doubts though, so Lucille and Dezi took matters in to their own hands and started their own production company called Desilu Productions, and created the pilot for the now famous show called I Love Lucy.

Lucille and Dezi insisted that the show be filmed in Los Angeles and not New York, like CBS requested, because they had already been living there for several years and did not want to move. CBS was concerned because shooting the show in Los Angeles meant having to deal with time differences, thus forcing the network to air the show on what was called kinescopes. According to the Directors Guild of America, Kinescopes are, “a 16mm filmed recording taken from an extremely bright cathode ray tube […] Kinescopes are fuzzy and often distorted, but were the only means for communities outside of the reach of coaxial cable linked network affiliates, predominately on the East Coast where most television programs originated, to see network programming."  So while networks were able to broadcast to different coasts, the picture quality was not necessarily worth it. Lucille proposed to CBS that her show be shot from multiple camera angles in front of a live studio audience. She wanted her show to be filmed like movies were being filmed; multiple cameras to shoot and capture different angles. This would eliminate the use of Kinescopes and give the audience a new way to view television shows.  Concerned with logistics and costs, CBS once again fought with Lucille about her idea. Lucille never gave up on her dream though and with some help from veteran cinematographer Karl Freun, Lucille and Dezi were able to achieve their dream of shooting their television show just like films. They of course had to take a cut in their weekly paycheck from the show as well, but that meant nothing to Lucille when it came to her dream.

The show broke the ground for how future television shows could be produced. She was able to break barriers and conquer the television world. She also didn’t let the network tell her how she should look and appear on TV. In 1951, Lucille allowed her audience to view the journey of her pregnancy with her, showing women all over to not be ashamed. The television audience was seeing for the first time, a woman who was pregnant on broadcast television and not trying to hide it. Lucille showed women that her character Lucy was more than just a housewife though. Lucy’s dream of making it big in Hollywood on the television screen is reflected in her hard work and dedication to create a show that broke boundaries and revolutionized TV.

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Another important show for the female character was Star Trek. The show was picked up by Desilu Productions in 1966 and created by Gene Roddenberry. It focused on a starship called The Enterprise in the year 2260, traveling through the Milky Way Galaxy in search of new life and civilizations on different planets. In the original series, actress Nichelle Nichols played female badass Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, the ship’s communication officer. Her character was strong and independent, for that time, and she helped bring the first interracial kiss to broadcast television. She also was one of the first African American characters that wasn’t portrayed in a non-menial role on American television. According to Mary Henderson, author of Professional Women in Star Trek, 1964 to 1969, she states that “Gene was determined that the astronaut corps of the future would be a tapestry of all human kind, of men and women on an equal basis, going where no man or woman had gone before, based strictly on their abilities. And the industry wasn't ready for it” (Henderson, 1994, pg 4). Nichols inspired young girls everywhere, both of color and of not, and showed them that the world allowed women to be so much more than just a house maid or nurse. Girls could become the Lieutenant of a starship and explore the galaxy alongside her colleagues. She even inspired one little girl so much that she too grew up and became an iconic woman on the Star Trek series. That little girl was Whoopi Goldberg, who played Guinan, a women who ran the lounge aboard the USS Enterprise-D on the series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Goldberg recalls seeing Nichols as Lt. Uhura on television and being in awe that a African American woman was playing a part that was typically seen portrayed by a man. Nichols gave women a new hope and new dreams, showing them that women were not confined to the stereotypical roles and society has placed for them. When the series ended in 1969, Nichols took up a job with NASA and helped them recruit women to join. That is quite the impact and difference Nichols was able to make for women in just a few year’s span.

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       When Buffy the Vampire Slayer came out in 1997, television audiences began to see the strong heroic female character that we had been waiting for. Sarah Michelle Gellar, the star of the show, played Buffy Summers, a young girl who was chosen by destiny to be the vampire slayer and save the world (over and over again) from the evils and demons of hell. Buffy was an icon for women characters in television because she was not the damsel in distress. She came at a time where the phrase “Girl Power” was used everywhere and America was seeing the third wave of feminism hit the country. Women were once again taking a stand for their gender and showing the country that women did not need men to fight their battles anymore Buffy saved the world a countless number of times, all while dealing with the struggles of finishing high school and just trying to live a normal life. Gellar’s character was a young girl in high school that had literally been to hell and back but was not about to let anyone tell her to give up.  She was a crime fighting, ass-kicking, vampire killing badass who showed the world that women could do anything they wanted to.

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When streaming television and shows on premium channels really took off around 2009, we began to see a whole new side to the female character that was being shown in television.  Netflix has shows like Orange is the New Black, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Jessica Jones, showing strong women who are continuing to not take “no” for an answer.  Women are being seen with flaws. Women are going through heartache and fist fights and doing everything that a man can do- and sometimes evening doing it better. People are also starting to see diverse sexuality being fully expressed. We have lesbian and gay characters, characters that are transgender, and everything else in between.  Katy Waldman, a reporter for Slate.com, wrote in her article Orange is New Black Is the New Star Trek, “Orange Is the New Black spins intimate, nuanced narratives around, for starters, trans-people, butch lesbians, non-butch lesbians, older women, poor women, and overweight women. These characters are presented not as peripheral or supporting but as the heart of the matter—their stories are the story, end of story.” Women are no longer the supporting character. They don’t have to fit into the “ideal image” of what society has tried to fit women in to. Women on television can now be overweight or gay or from a lower class and still have a successful story line. The stereotype of a skinny, pretty, submissive women is no longer desirable to the television audiences.

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     Women in television have gone from the career-driven sitcom mom like Claire Huxtable (played by Phylicia Rashad) on The Cosby Show (1984-1992) to the crime fighting women of the law like Olivia Benson (played by Mariska Hargitay) in Law & Order: SVU (1999-Present) to now even transgender women serving their time in prison like Sophia Burset (played by Laverne Cox) on Orange is the New Black (2013-Present). A big step towards portraying women correctly in television also involves making sure there are women behind the camera, as well. Alyssa Rosenberg a journalist for The Washington Post, posits that, 

“It’s become a conscious decision to hire women directors and producers and writers, and just become a very conscious effort to either give them a chance the way men are given a chance and support them. It has to be a studio- or network-wide policy. It has to be enacted on every level. That one is a really tough nut to crack, because it’s been so intractable”.  

Women are doctors, lawyers, superheroes, witches, or even the antagonist. Women are breaking free from the unrealistic mold in which the industry and society has set in place for them. Women don’t just sit around the house and wait for their man to return home to them, like people typically see them doing, especially in advertisements. Women are not submissive sex objects that are placed on television to please the male viewer’s eye. Women are finally allowed to be portrayed as women. Television is showing people that there are no limits to which the title of being a lady, holds. Women can achieve their dreams of making in big in Hollywood, travel space and reach new and uncharted planets, and even fight off hundreds of vampires without breaking a sweat.

                                        Work Cited

Henderson, M. (1994). Professional Women in Star Trek, 1964 to                           1969. Film and History, XXIV. Retrieved May 15, 2016, from http://0-               content.ebscohost.com.helin.uri.edu